Broncos linebacker Darrell Reid is an extroverted guy. The one with a big smile, big voice and big personality.

So it's really no surprise when he cut right to the chase about what faces the Broncos now.

"You keep winning and you can only be underdogs so long," Reid said.

There it is. The Broncos have tried to make the most of the outside skepticism of their efforts. It's been a part of their team meetings, about getting respect, about how nobody believes in them, etc .

And often that can be a tidy rallying point for a team in professional football.

But at 4-0 and having surrendered a league-low 26 points, the Broncos are no longer under anybody's radar. And just as struggle can often show a lot about a team's makeup, so can prosperity.

Prosperity has dissolved just as many teams' dreams as injuries. It's why Super Bowl champions don't repeat much of the time, it's why teams that lost the Super Bowl don't even usually make the playoffs the following year.

And it's why so many coaches and veteran players who have ridden the merry go-round a few times in their career dislike the compliments almost as much as they despise the criticism.

There is a thin line between football confidence and vanity, it seems.

The Broncos have made it a quarter of the way through the season feasting on criticisms of their new way of doing things. But at 4-0, already atop the AFC West by two games, things have changed.

And it's just another test in a season that figures to be full of them.

Rockies are on pace to lose 93 games this seasonThe Rockies lost three of four in St. Louis and are on pace to lose 93 games as they come home for a three-game series with Seattle before going back on the road again to face Washington.